''Forbidden Voices'' is a

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

by director Barbara Miller about the fight for

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

of three female bloggers:

Yoani Sánchez Yoani María Sánchez Cordero (born September 4, 1975) is a Cuban blogger who has achieved international fame and multiple international awards for her critical portrayal of life in Cuba under its current government. Sánchez attended primary ...

from

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Zeng Jinyan Zeng Jinyan (; born October 9, 1983), is a Chinese blogger and human rights activist. Zeng was put under house arrest in August 2006 and the blog that details her life under constant surveillance and police harassment was subsequently blocked in C ...

from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and Farnaz Seifi from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The film ''Forbidden Voices'' explores the motivation and goals of the online activists' struggle and traces the consequences and

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

s the three women are facing for their courageous activism. The documentary won the

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Award 2013 and the WACC SIGNIS Human Rights Award 2012, and was nominated for the

Swiss Film Award The Swiss Film Awards (, , , ; also known as the Swiss Film Prize) are national film awards awarded in several categories of Switzerland, first given out in 1998. History Between 1998 and 2008 the prize was given during the Solothurn Film Fest ...

and the Prix de Soleure in 2013.

Internet censorship and repression

''Forbidden Voices'' describes how Internet access in Cuba is still prohibited for the average citizen, and

Internet censorship in China The People's Republic of China (PRC) internet censorship, censors both the publishing and viewing of online material. Many controversial events are censored from news coverage, preventing many Chinese citizens from knowing about the actions of ...

and Internet access in Iran are very harsh, the blogs of the three

protagonists A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

are

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

, blocked or even shut-down by their governments. Seen by their governments as

dissidents A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

the

bloggers A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

are often under

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

and facing harsh repressions. Yoani Sánchez has been beaten and

arrested An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be Interroga ...

, as well as publicly defamed on Cuban State TV for fighting for human rights in Cuba; Zeng Jinyan lived for years with her husband Hu Jia and her new born daughter under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

for their fight for

human rights in China Human rights in the People's Republic of China are poor, as per reviews by international bodies, such as human rights treaty bodies and the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), th ...

; and Farnaz Seifi has been arrested for her fight for

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

in Iran and forced in to

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

Premier and awards

The award-winning documentary ''Forbidden Voices'' premiered at the 2012 Visions du Réel Film Festival in

Nyon, Switzerland Nyon (; historically German: or and Italian: , ) is a municipality in Nyon District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Genev ...

, and had its International Premiere at IDFA, The

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Description IDFA is an independent, international meeting place for audiences ...

. Awards: * 2012: WACC-SIGNIS Human Rights Award: ''Forbidden Voices'' (Toronto, Canada) * 2012: Amnesty International Award (Human Rights Film Festival San Sebastian, Spain): ''Forbidden Voices'' * 2012: Nomination

Swiss Film Prize The Swiss Film Awards (, , , ; also known as the Swiss Film Prize) are national film awards awarded in several categories of Switzerland, first given out in 1998. History Between 1998 and 2008 the prize was given during the Solothurn Film Fest ...

/Best Documentary: ''Forbidden Voices'' * 2013: Nomination Prix de Soleure at the

Solothurn Film Festival The Solothurn Film Festival (SFT) is the most important festival for Swiss film productions. Founded in 1966 in the Swiss city of Solothurn, the annual festival presents a representative selection of Swiss feature, documentary, and short film prod ...

Reviews

* "''Forbidden Voice''s is a compelling and deeply disturbing documentary that makes those of us who freely sit at our laptops and type realize how much we take for granted, and how powerful these women's voices are in their repressive societies." (Review by Leah Kolb, Bitch Flicks) * "This is a humbling documentary for a reporter to watch. Following three bloggers whose beat is their government's oppression, we see the extreme lengths they go to tell the world their stories: They bear house arrest, get beaten up by police, live for years in exile. ... Yet despite the misery these women's governments put them through, ''Forbidden Voices'' is hopeful: Information can no longer be managed by the state. That's largely because of technology, but equally due to the spirit of women like Sanchez, Farnaz, and Zeng." (Review ''Forbidden Voices'', by Daniel Person,

Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976, and it becam ...

) * "The film opens with blood-curdling screams of Yoani Sánchez. The Cuban blogger fought in February 2010 against an ambush-style arrest by the secret police, and the courageous woman was able to achieve in that critical moment the impossible, namely to operate unnoticed the recording button on her mobile phone. The ugly face of the ubiquitous apparatus of repression in the realm of the Castro brothers who still enjoy in certain circles a residual prestige ("After all, Cuba has a free health and education system for all"), could hardly be shown more impressively then as with this dramatic opening sequence." (Review ''Forbidden Voices'', by Geri Krebs, NZZ)

Additional press

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

: ''Forbidden Voices'': Female bloggers fight for freedom of speech * Bitch Flicks: Documentary Explores the ''Forbidden Voices'' of Three Female Bloggers * ''Seattle Weekly News'': Review of ''Forbidden Voices'' * Deutsche Welle (TV): Video summary on ''Forbidden Voices'' *

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

: ''Forbidden Voices'' - Film Tribute To Three Exceptional Women Bloggers *

Women Make Movies Women Make Movies is a non-profit feminist media arts organization based in New York City. Founded by Ariel Maria Dougherty, Ariel Dougherty and Sheila Paige with Dolores Bargowski, WMM was first a feminist production collective that emerged from ...

: Women Make Movies article on ''Forbidden Voices'' * SRF ( Swiss TV) article: ''Forbidden Voice''s - Forbidden Votes

References

External links

* * * {{cite web, url=http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c847.shtml, title=''Forbidden Voices'' at Women Make Movies (American distributor) 2012 films Documentary films about human rights Films about freedom of expression 2012 documentary films Documentary films about women Swiss documentary films Documentary films about the Internet Films scored by Marcel Vaid